**VIP Chapter 279: The Spring of the Beast-Eared Maid (2)**
“I have no more questions.”
“Well done, Iaar.”
“…!”
Iaar widened her eyes as she watched the Young Master extend his hand and gently stroke between her beast ears. Standing at the entrance of the Hysterm Family’s old residence, he looked just like before, still reaching out to pat her head whenever she did something right—just like one would with a cute little puppy.
He hadn’t changed at all.
Iaar recalled her first day here—although that memory felt very hazy, perhaps embellished by many enhancements from her later self and countless descriptions from others.
But…
At that time, her hair was messy and long, and she wore tattered clothes, picked up from the forest by a “hunter” employed by the Hysterm Family.
She stood at the same door of the Hysterm Family, small and thin, tilting her head back high without being able to see the top of the tall house.
She could barely stand, her frail arms seemed like they would snap if touched, and she couldn’t understand what the people around her were saying as they discussed her…
In that moment, she met Will, who emerged from the crowd. He was just a child himself, stumbling forward.
Everyone seemed to hold great reverence for him as they parted to give him space.
When he first laid eyes on her, there was a sparkle in his eyes, as if he knew she couldn’t understand him. He said nothing, simply leaned closer.
He reached out his hand, and when he saw her flinch, he resolutely patted her head—especially the area between her ears. Just like today.
Iaar widened her eyes; she had grown taller and no longer needed to tilt her head so high to see the ceiling, but she still needed to lift it slightly to meet the Young Master’s gaze.
His hand slowly retracted.
That day marked the end of her cold winter and the onset of a warm spring.
“Thank you… Iaar, thank you for saving me.”
And on that day, she felt as if she brought this “spring” to her Young Master.
Yes! Her Young Master would never betray her! Even if he vanished without a word, even if he suddenly disappeared, even if he had announced his engagement to another woman…
He was still her most treasured Young Master.
He would provide her with…
The “love” she needed the most.
Just like what was written in “Blackening 300 Questions,” the first thing she had to believe was… that he deeply loved her.
That’s right, this… this is the Young Master she relied on and cherished—
“No… Iaar didn’t do well. I should have stayed with the Young Master from the beginning, I still… still let the Young Master get hurt…”
The words slipped out, and only then did she realize she had practically lunged forward, hugging Will tightly.
“Wait… wait a minute… you’re… hugging too tight.”
Though it should have been a joyful moment, tears streamed down uncontrollably.
“Iaar really… really misses, misses, misses the Young Master. Every time I think of that night when he left on the train, I… I can’t help but shiver.”
“I want to someday… be able to return to the Young Master’s side…”
“I want the Young Master to be safe and by Iaar’s side…”
As Iaar spoke, she felt Will wrap his arms around her in return.
“Mm.”
A smile crept onto her lips as she softly added—
“…Forever.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How long had it been since such a peaceful day?
How long had it been since she last felt hope like this?
“Ah… it feels like a rebirth!”
“Surely, not many can return to their own home from four or five years ago, living just as they did then.”
Standing at the desk where he often wrote, he lowered his head and lifted the hem of his clothing to clean his glasses.
Although he had many thoughts to ponder and tasks to tackle, he indeed felt slightly more relaxed now.
Perhaps it was because…
After enduring the ambush orchestrated by the Little Witch Liya in the Dungeon, who had taken him away, along with his trek to the capital and the trap laid by the Princess Treya…
He discovered that Iaar had not transformed into someone like “them.” She hadn’t tainted him with her blood, hadn’t begun to make him sink gradually into her—a process that would alter his memory and control his spirit, turning him into her canary.
It was just like this…
She saved him and brought him back to this old room, awaiting his awakening.
He glanced out the window—
The sky was not clear, seemingly poised to unleash this year’s first snowfall, yet it felt oddly reassuring and tranquil.
Though the house was empty and dilapidated,
he genuinely felt as if he had returned to “the past.”
It was not like stepping into “winter,” but felt akin to entering a hopeful “spring.”
As the Young Master of the Hysterm Family, waking on the mahogany bed, practicing sword skills slightly in the morning, and sitting quietly at his desk in the afternoon to read magical materials—
this was enough!
This was the “hope” he desired.
Not a continuous cycle of escaping only to be captured again, but the “hope” that allowed him to stand here with his own consciousness.
It was also… the hope Iaar had bestowed upon him.
As for some “mysteries” and unresolved events, he had ample time to ponder them, such as…
He put on the glasses he had just cleaned.
“Indeed, it’s not the problem of the lenses; it’s an issue with my eyes.”
After donning the glasses, his left eye became blurred while the right remained clear.
Taking off his glasses, he looked at both eyes separately to see clearly into the distance.
For some reason, his nearsightedness in the left eye seemed to have miraculously improved—this was why upon waking up from bed, the “reality” before him felt like a dream where distance perception was confounded.
In cases where one eye was highly nearsighted while the other was normal, the brain struggled to adapt, resulting in a lack of distance perception.
“Ugh… it’s a pity that I couldn’t find a mirror here.”
Will searched the room but found no mirrors—perhaps most had been discarded or taken away? After all, they were fragile items, which was understandable.
So he could only carefully observe his left eye in the reflection of the glass.
“Indeed, although my iris color is deep and not very obvious, compared to the right eye, the color seems to have taken on a slightly purple hue.”
“…The ability to see that strange aura around Iaar is also thanks to this eye.”
He had his suspicions, especially since Treya’s purple eyes were also in her left eye. Could it be that, just as Liya mixed witch’s blood into her own to enhance her magical adaptability,
Treya’s “contract with the demon” had progressed to two-thirds before Iaar interrupted it?
So… did he indeed gain a fragment of that demon’s power?
But if this was the demon’s power, what could he see on Iaar that was…
“Young Master, the black tea is ready; give it a try. Although it’s a pity, the quality of the tea leaves lately hasn’t been good.”
!!!
Will turned his head in surprise…
Unbeknownst to him, Iaar appeared behind him, as if whispering right next to his ear.
She placed the steaming black tea on his desk from behind his waist.
He hadn’t noticed at all, even though the desk was still some distance from the doorway. He had been oblivious to the entire process of Iaar opening the door and approaching.
Moreover…
His intuition and alertness now were certainly not as low as before.
